Maryya Vodenicharov
Maryya Vodenicharov (1914 - 30th November 1987) was the sister of Eryk Vodenicharov, the first president of Darmania. She fought with the royal army in the Darmanian Civil War and was one of the last who surrendered to the freedom fighters in 1939. Her loyalty to the old regime placed her at odds with her brother, and she was exiled after his rise to president of the new republic. As a child, Maryya's relationship with her older brother was reportedly positive; the two helped take care of their younger siblings and supported each other through the hardships of their youth. They joined the military together at the start of the civil war, but were soon separated and sent to serve in different locations. Military life Maryya was recognized as officer material due to her strategical thinking, blind loyalty and excellent skills at following orders. She did not question her superiors even when she was sent on suicidal missions, and returned with most of her soldiers intact for the simple reason that she considered that the most strategically sound thing to do. It is unknown if this was a normal disposition of Maryya's, or if it was her loyalty to the royal army that caused her steadfastness. Maryya never seemed to express an opinion about the conflict until dissent spreading from the lower ranks and into those of the higher officers forced everyone to choose a side. She then without hesitation declared her eternal loyalty to the king. Maryya proved true on her word, except on one occasion. When Eryk escaped the army to join the freedom fighters, he woke Maryya in the middle of the night to tell her of his plans and ask her to come with him. Maryya vehemently refused, and said she would consider him an enemy from that point onward and not hesitate to kill him if the opportunity presented himself. She did not, however, tell anyone about the escape attempt that night. Capture In the spring of 1939, the royal army suffered from mass desertions and depleted food supplies, and was steadily losing ground. The king and his closest allies retreated into the mountains where they holed up in Ztreganna Fortress, preparing to hold it for as long as possible. Maryya was among the officers who covered their retreat. Due to her habit of not dying in battles with extremely low odds she also managed to survive, conduct a raid on a front troop of the freedom fighters, and escape with supplies. With these, she brought her surviving soldiers to the fortress and was admitted inside. During the following siege of Ztreganna Fortress an epidemic of the common cold swept through the royal army, and Maryya, being the highest ranking officer who survived, took up the position at the king's side. According to other survivors from the fortress, she swore to protect him with her life; however, this was not to happen. When the freedom fighters finally breached the fortress's walls and confronted the king and his remaining soldiers (most of whom capitulated at once) Maryya was knocked out by a sack of potatoes thrown from an upper story, and the king could be killed over her unconscious body. Exile After the death of the king and the capitulation of the royal army, Maryya was brought to the newly re-named Vjecnigrad, which was to be Eryk's capital, and imprisoned for nearly half a year. Eryk, who visited her at least five times during her imprisonment, claimed that she would be released if she "admitted" to having been misled by the late king and swore to remain loyal to him; however, Maryya refused, and is even said to have spat in his face on one occasion after being asked. After five and a half months Eryk decided to release her, but only on the condition that she never would return to Darmania, from which she would escorted under heavy guard immediately upon her release. To this Maryya agreed. She smuggled across the border to Cabranthia and released in secret. Maryya lived in The Federal States of Lemuria for twenty years before moving to Znokov, where she vanished into anonymity under a secret name. It was not entirely known where she lived until she passed away in 1987 and her location made official by the Znokovian government following an investigation. In her will, Maryya asked for a posthumous pardon from her brother Eryk and for her ashes to be returned to Darmanian soil. Eryk made no official response. Maryya was buried at the Chlimsk graveyard in Znokov.